1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of skateboards, and more particularly to an improved skateboard which comprises two or more sets of in-line wheel trucks wherein two or more wheel trucks may be steered by the foot of the rider regardless of any shifts in the weight of the rider.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art is replete with patents dealing with skateboards. Typically, skateboards come with wheel trucks having axial alignment for multiple wheels on the trucks or may have in-line wheel trucks similar to the type used in the present invention. The typical conventional skateboard comprises a rigid elongated board having front and rear portions with a wheel truck assembly fixedly mounted below the front portion of the board and a rear wheel truck assembly fixedly mounted beneath the rear portion of the board. Normally, steering is accomplished by a complex redistribution of the weight of the rider standing on the board. Obviously, learning to redistribute the weight as required to steer a skateboard in a safe manner is a time consuming and dangerous process.
Some of the prior art disclose skateboards which have axially aligned wheels and, to assist the rider in steering the board, the wheels are tapered from side to side to effectively increase the turning ability of the board when the board is tilted to one side or the other to effect a sharper turning radius. However, such boards do not have the capability of individually steered wheel trucks, thereby limiting the amount of steerability of the board.
Other patents in the prior art are known to have steerable wheel trucks. For instance, in the patent to Piazza, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,559) a steerable skateboard is shown wherein a steering platform is placed at the front of the board for effecting steering by the user, but only the front trucks is steerable. There is no linkage to the rear truck. The board of the Piazza patent utilizes aligned wheel trucks and obviously only the front wheel truck is steerable.
In the Welsh Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,208) another type of skateboard is shown wherein the board may be steerable both from the front and the rear, and the user will have steering capability by using both feet. Again, there is no linkage between the front and rear trucks and the effective steering must be by both feet. This patent also discloses wheel trucks which have axially aligned wheels and not in-line wheel trucks.
In the Yi Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,401) an in-line skateboard is shown having turning capability. However, the rollers are only pivotally mounted for steerability and the steering is effected in response to pressure placed upon the wheel trucks by the user. There is no independent steering of the wheel trucks from the foot of the user.